"Marie!" I look over at her amid the merriment. "How on Earth did you pull all of this off?"

She shakes her head, "I have my ways, Beverly. We had actually been planning this since you came. In fact" she pauses, "It's a good thing Wesley ran off when he did! Robert and I stayed up all night scheming ways to get you three out of the house!"

"Oh?" I smile over my glass.

"Ouis," she nods in response, taking another slice of bread. "And we were totally coming up dry… there's not much to do in Labarre!"

"So, Doctor," my head reflexively moves at the title. Wesley turns to the EMH sitting on his left. "What happened after we transported from the Daystrom Institute?"

"Well," he angles himself. "It was as I suspected all along," a self-satisfied smirk exaggerates his stark smile lines. "Not moment after you three transported," he pauses dramatically, riveting the table's attention. "The artillery moved it, so to speak."

"Wel-" Wesley encourages only to be cut off by the hologram.

"I'm getting there," he gesticulates as he takes on a theatrical air. "Well, after you three dematerialized," he motions to his left. "Seven and I wiped the transporter log. Good thing because not a moment later, the building's main computer came back online."

"Seven," Wesley bends forward. "How were you able to disable the main computer in the first place? From what I could see from the consoles, the Daystrom's computers are far more advanced than anything in Starfleet!"

"You are forgetting that I am Borg," I could have sworn she rolled her eyes! "I accessed the main computer from the hallway console while Vera, Savet, and Jack were," she pauses morbidly. "Otherwise occupied…"

Wesley, though, is somewhat oblivious to her flat Borg affect. "So, what kind of algorithm was it?"

"Sequence-based," she motions with her left hand as if inputting the sequence in to thin air. "The hallway consoles were rudimentary, containing basic information such as layout of the building and simple engineering tasks such as door ground-floor door access codes and light controls. But," an almost-smile pulls at her pale cheeks. "I realized that Voyager's controls had something similar; I knew that embedded within the simple functions of the console was another layer that led into the main computer."

"So, you basically used a variation of the Zoprin Cipher to jump between levels and access the main computer?"

"Precisely," She sighs. "And from there I temporarily disabled building-wide communications and access by locking all doors on the upper two levels."

"I," Robert laughs. "For one have no idea what these two are going on about, but," he moves to stand. "Would like to propose a toast before we get too carried away on these delicious bottles of wine and excellent company."

"Here, here!" Will raises his glass.

"To Jean Luc, Beverly, and Wesley, eh, it's so good to have you with us and we're so, so grateful that you are safe." He looks down to gather his next thoughts. "I must admit that I had no idea how you made an escape and frankly je ne savais pas – eh excuse me," he laughs at his own jumble. "I didn't know just what you were up against over these past few weeks. But, regardless, we are blessed that you are with us, safe, and happy." He raises his glass to us. "To you."

"Thank you, Robert," Jean Luc moves to stand before the conversation continues. "And," he takes a moment to regard our guests, "Thank you all for coming. I have to admit that we…" he motions to Wesley and I. "Are so fortunate to call such a wonderful group of people our friends."

He pauses in the silence as I move to take his free hand. "So much has happened since I left the Enterprise – so much that I didn't even believe was possible." He smiles and regards Deanna. "I think that Deanna can attest, based on hours and hours of counseling sessions over the years, that I never, even thought that I would have a family, this family! I dreamt of it, yes, but really how often do the things that we dream of manifest themselves in reality?"

Across the table I see a small motion as Kathryn moves to regard the man sitting next to her. Something implicitly beautiful passes between them as he looks back and takes her hand.

"Uh," he laughs again as he clears this throat. "Until two and a half years ago I felt...lifeless. I was alone, isolated. Can you imagine?" He laughs as he solemnly regards an inconsequential spot on the white tablecloth. "I had a ship full of people, plenty of friends, but in spite of all of it – I was terribly lonely. And then," his voice cracks through a smile as he reorients himself. "Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, something beautiful came." I tug on his hand and he looks at me. "I was able to admit how much I loved this woman, and I was able to accept happiness. And then," a full smile shines through. "I don't know how it's possible, but my gladness was augmented when Wesley came to live with us and when Beverly bore our two little ones." He stops again and turns to slowly regard our guests. "I know that all of your must be tired of listening to me by now, but" He stops his gaze at Wesley. "I know I must sound like a broken record at this point, Wes, but I am so proud of you. I don't think, in all of my years, that I could ask for a better son, or a better friend."

I see Wesley wipe away his own moisture as he holds Jean Luc's gaze. "I'm so pleased to have gotten to know you better than I ever have, and not be wary or cautious to love you openly or to call you my son. So," He smiles again at the rest of our friends and family. "I promise I'll end this now."

Collective smiles and tears greet him from across the table. "This is to you, my son, I love you, I'm proud of you, and I'm so excited to spend however long I'm graced to have left in this existence getting to know you even better and seeing where this wonderful adventure that we call life takes you." He raises his glass, "To Wesley Robert Picard."

Everyone, again, thanks so much! I'm going to start working on the next chapter with all of your comments in mind. Let me know if you're liking this and where you'd like to see future chapters take us! Thanks again. -Becca